Friday 30 March 2012

Recipe: Low Carb Mini Frittatas

I've decided, this week, that I'm going to cut carbs from my diet because my new medication has changed my metabolism, and I've begun to put on a little weight.

I was a bit lost about what to have for breakfast so I've come up with this quick recipe that you can prepare in advance and keep in the fridge or freezer for other days. In this recipe I've used ham and red pepper, but you can use whatever meat/vegetable you like.

Recipe makes 18

Ingredients
8 medium sized eggs
1 red pepper diced
100g roughly diced ham
100ml semi skimmed milk
Salt and pepper to season
1. Preheat the oven to 200 °c (fan assisted). Lightly grease a Yorkshire pudding tray, making sure everything is covered otherwise they will stick! I use olive oil but vegetable or sunflower oils are fine.

2. Crack all of the eggs into a large bowl, add the milk then season to taste. Lightly beat the mixture. Once that's done add your choice of ingredients and mix into the egg until spread evenly.

3. Pour your mixture into each small pod on the tray, being careful not to spill too much over the sides.

4. Pop the tray into the oven for 15-20 minutes. Carefully remove the tray from the oven and you're done.

I'm going to freeze some of mine and take them out as and when I need them for breakfast.

Enjoy.

Tay Tay :-)

Monday 19 March 2012

Chester/Chester Zoo

On Monday my boyfriend and I went to stay in Chester for a night at a gorgeous hotel. We had been given a complimentary night due to a complaint we had made on a previous visit.

Chester is one of my most favourite places in England. There are lots of lovely little shops to walk around and there is lots of Roman history to see too. You've got the Roman amphitheatre, which is the largest know military amphitheatre in Britain. There's also plenty of Roman artefacts to look at inside the Grosvenor museum.

The best part about Chester is that it's home to Chester Zoo! (Another one of my most favourite places).
It's quite large and is home to over 8,000 animals, from 400 different species.
My favourite animal there is the giraffe. They're so beautiful and graceful, kinda like a friendly giant.


Anyway, I've added some pictures from our visit.


Tay Tay :-)
My handsome/silly boyfriend












Sunday 18 March 2012

Olanzapine

So I've been taking Olanzapine for nearly three weeks now, they are fucking amazing!

Okay, so maybe that's slightly over the top, but my mood swings have improved a great deal. I've not had any huge highs or lows since I've started taking them and when I have felt my mood change I've been able to control it a lot easier.
My friends have commented that I seem more stable and my partner has said I'm more like my old self.

Things are looking up and I would definitely recommend them to anyone else in my position. I have noticed some weight gain though which isn't too bad, but I'll need to keep an eye on it.

I'll keep you posted as always.

TayTay :-)

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Coming out


Today I've been thinking about coming out and how long it took for me to realise I was gay. Most people I know say that they knew they were gay as they were entering their teenage years, but for me it was different.

My first gay experience was something I was desperate to forget. I was 17 and had been invited, by a female friend of mine, to a singles party at a her boss's home in the woods. His house was HUGE! All on one level, it boasted it's own dance room complete with bar and DJ decks, it's own 8 person jacuzzi and it's own sauna. It was the first time I'd ever been to a place quite like it. Anyway, the party went on and the alcohol was flowing (free). It got to about midnight and everybody headed to either the jacuzzi or the sauna. To be honest, I was quite nervous. Majority of the people around me were all in their mid to late twenties but that didn't stop me stripping off and jumping into the jacuzzi with some of the others. Someone brought some bottles of Champagne and Malibu to the jacuzzi so the alcohol continued to flow. After some time, people moved into the sauna or back into the house to get themselves dry. I decided to stay and swim around in the jacuzzi, and one of the guys I'd met decided to stay too. He was short with light coloured hair, in his late twenties/early thirties. We chatted for a little as I swam around, mainly him asking me questions about my personal life and if I had a girlfriend. After about 20 minutes of this he asked me if I wanted to go back to his. I'm not sure what made me say yes, more than likely it was the ridiculous amount of booze, but I did.
I had to find the friend I'd arrived with and ask her for my wallet. She'd kept it in her bag as I didn't need it. Naturally she asked what I wanted it for so I lied and told her some new 'special' drinks had arrived at the bar which you needed to pay for. As foolish as that sounds now, she bought it and gave me my wallet.
The guy I'm leaving with calls us a cab and off I go into the night, back to his place.

Everything after that is a blank.

The next morning I wake up at about 6am with an extremely sore bum, empty condom packets around me (thank God) and a naked man next to me! 'What have I done?!' I'm thinking. Mortified, I search for whatever clothing of mine I can find, call a taxi and go home. Not only was I disgusted with myself for staying with a man, I was doubly annoyed as I should have been leaving for the airport at 7:30am to go on holiday for a week. When I got home my Gran, who I was living with at the time, was not impressed. I'd gone home with no top, no underwear and only one shoe. She couldn't have been any less impressed with the situation than I was though.

After this I went on holiday for a week and tried my best to forget about it.
When I got back home though there was no forgetting about it. I hadn't known that the guy I'd gone back with was a colleague of the friend who'd taken me to the party. She wasn't going to let it rest! She had a gay Uncle so this wasn't new to her. She'd also already told her Mum who was also a friend of the family. Great. I'd have to come clean. Having spoken to her Mum, I promised it was just a one off and that I really wasn't interested in being gay. How naive I was.

Later that week, a different friend asked if I wanted to go to a club called Martha's. At the time I had no idea it was a gay club so I agreed. When we got there I was hostile towards everyone. This was the last place I wanted to be after my experience before my holiday but, after a few drinks, I was up on the stage dancing with everyone like there was no tomorrow. I really enjoyed myself. I chatted with other gay guys and began to feel really comfortable. Now it was definitely time to come out!


The first person I wanted to tell was my Great Aunt. I'd go to her house regularly on a Wednesday and a Friday and we would always tell each other our problems. I was nervous, but I knew I had to do it. I'm not sure why I was so nervous. I guess I expected her to scream and shout at me although I don't know why, she'd always been extremely supportive of other things in the past.
To my surprise, there was no screaming or shouting. In fact, she was more upset with me because I expected her to scream and shout. I continued over time, at my own pace, to come out to other friends and family. I have two brothers that took the news fine. My Dad wasn't pleased about it at first, but since then he's completely changed his view and even has gay friends of his own so never be put off telling someone because of their point of view. Their point of view can be changed!

Since coming out my life has definitely changed for the better. Even though it was a shock for me at first to realise I am gay, it must have been lurking inside of me somewhere, I just hadn't had the opportunity to let it out. It was a big weight off my shoulders. Life's always much more comfortable when you can just be yourself.

Tay Tay :-)